After they packed the food, they started on the trail to the sun shrine. The rain, though still falling, had subsided to its noon-time drizzle. Tsubame had packed the food in oil pack cloths to expel the rain, and Yahiko held an umbrella over heir heads. They walked in silence, keeping to their thoughts and looking at the dreary surroundings. The rain had washed all the color away until all that was left was a uniform gray. They arrived at the shrine late in the afternoon, with most of their food gone. The steps to the shrine were wet and Tsubame slipped once soaking herself and she blushed when she had to take Yahiko's hand to get up. Inside the shrine, the warm air made their spirits rise.
"We're finally in the shrine of the sun goddess," she mused. She liked the sun goddess. Tsubame was lean, strong, and hard, but the sun goddess was what Tsubame wished and aspired to be, beautiful, radiant, and needing care. The sun goddess helped crops grow. She played with the cattle while they grazed and with basking cats and reptiles. Sunlight told the fish to come up to the surface to make it easier for fishermen. The sun loved life.
Hours passed as Tsubame and Yahiko sat in the shrine and prayed. They talked sporadically, and then it stopped altogether. The sun sank in the sky and everything was silent except for the rain and the creak of trees under their heavy strain. Time seemed to be standing still, marked only by the drips of rain. Yahiko started to drift off and dream. He was tired after the long hike. Tsubame would wake him when it was time to go.
Two years ago, he had walked the long steps to the Temple of Gods. He was in awe of the black marble floor covered with white veins. The pillars had gold inlay. The priests there had shown him statues of the many gods and kami. Behind an altar at the back of the temple, were three statues of the most powerful gods and goddesses. To the right of the altar, was a statue of the moon goddess, and on the left stood the storm god. In between the two other statues, standing a full head taller, was the sun goddess. He had learned about all of the gods and goddesses, from the weakest, to the most powerful. The priests talked about an oracle, that at the end of the seventh year of eternal rains, a daughter of the sun would ask her mother, the goddess, for help in her time of need. Although the sun goddess was distraught after being hurt by her brother, the storm god, she would help her daughter by overcoming the storm god by burning through the clouds of darkness. The storm god would be punished, and Anora would be prosperous for many more centuries.
Now Yahiko's dream changed, to another point in the past: the day he first saw Tsubame.
She had walked past the dojo at first, keeping her head down against the rain, and then she had turned around and peered through the spaces in the wrought iron gate. She looked tired, and her face was gaunt from lack of food.
"Hello there!" she had called to him. "I'm looking for the local sword academy."
He looked up from the ground he had been trying to sweep and replied, "This would be it."
Tsubame gave a yawn that seemed to last a lifetime and looked at him. Her eyes were tired. "Oh good." She fainted.
Yahiko ran to the gate and hurried to unlock it. He stepped outside and picked up the unconscious body and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of grain. Then he brought her inside.
After a week of pacing, hurrying, and watching over, Tsubame finally gained consciousness. The only fact that allowed Yahiko to believe she was still alive, was her pulse. When she had gotten adequate nutrition, Tsubame had told Yahiko, Miss Kaoru, and Kenshin about her past and why she had wanted to find a sword academy. At the time, Yahiko had had a dearth of interest in Tsubame's history and hadn't cared to remember anything. Besides, he only cared about the present; the past was over and done with.
Tsubame had been given a spot at the school, and free room and board for as long as she was at the school. That was all that mattered.
